Frame structure for pallets



Jan. 31, 1961 W. J. HIGGINS RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR PA LLETS INVENTOR. IVA/MTI Egg/A0 Zak/1 irroe/vzrs Jan. 31, 1961 w. J. HIGGINS 2,969,948

FRAME STRUCTURE FOR PALLETS Filed Aug. 1, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IINVENTOR. MAL/A, Jfigq/ms J BY United States FRAME STRUCTURE FOR PALLETSWilliam J. Higgins, 12 Capp St., Shore Crest, Carteret, N .3.

Filed Aug. 1, 1958, Ser. No. 752,681

Claims. (Cl. 248-120) (Granted under Title 35, U.S. Code (1952), see.266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by orfor the Government of the United States of America for governmentalpurposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

The present invention pertains to the art of handling and storingmaterials constituting stock of various kinds on pallets, and isembodied in a frame which is attachable to a pallet to facilitate thepurpose.

Under standard practice of handling stock in storage and transportation,it is customary to place the stock on pallets of well known standardizedstructures, which enables the stock to be lifted and carriedconveniently, stored, or stowed in transportation. The frame of theinvention enables pallets of stock to be stacked, one on top of another,with the load of any upper pallet resting on the frame of the palletbelow.

The frame of the invention comprises like frame components which, withstandardized fasteners and simple stay members, constitute the onlyessential components of a frame. Several frame components are secured toeach other rigidly by means of one or more fasteners to constitute aframe in position of engagement with the pallet, the frame therebyattached to the pallet constituting a unitary structure.

Frame components positioned closely adjacent to each other occupy littlespace for storage or shipping. Fasteners consist of ordinary bolts, astandard being selected that is readily procurable. Stay members areprovided in quantities that are needed to hold the frames rigid in thenormal practices of handling for storage and shipping. All stay membersare alike, and according to preferred structure constitute lengths ofstrap iron, requiring little space for storage or transportation.

To assemble any given number of pallets with frames attached, therequired number of frame components are provided, all alike, togetherwith what are needed of stay members, also all alike, and with therequired quantity of standard bolts. In addition to bolts, like framecomponents and the like stay members are the only different kinds ofelements that are needed.

A practical embodiment of the invention is disclosed in the accompanyingdrawings, in which Fig. l is a perspective of a pallet with a frame ofthe present invention attached thereto,

Fig. 2 is an exploded view in side elevation of the pallet and frame ofFig. l, and

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the structure of Fig. 2.

A frame that embodies the present invention consists of several framecomponents 11 which are secured to each other, and thereby are attachedto pallet 12.

Each frame component 11 consists of lengths of suitable elongated stressmembers, channel iron and angle iron being employed, the several stressmembers being secured to each other, by welding for example, toconstitute a rigid structure.

Each frame component 11 comprises a pallet-engaging member 15, which inthe disclosed embodiment con- \stitutes a length of channel iron thatfits in the space between upper and lower decks l6 and 17 of pallet 12.

The selected gage of channel iron of pallet-engaging,

member 15 allows ample clearance between decks l6 and 17 to enable themember to be inserted freely between the decks, as shown.

Each frame component 11 comprises a rest member 18, which in thedisclosed embodiment describes a truncated triangle which is isosceles.The length of base 19 corresponds with pallet-engaging member 15.Opposite edge 20 is any suitable length. Each end of base piece 19 isconnected with piece 20 at its corresponding end by means of a sidepiece 21. Each of the several pieces 19, 2t and 21 constitutes a lengthof angle iron, and the several pieces are secured to each other rigidly,as by welding, to locate web faces of the several pieces in a plane thatconstitutes a surface of rest 22.

Upright pieces 23 are similar lengths of angle iron. Each upright 23connects an end of base 19 with the corresponding end of pallet-engagingmember 15 both connections being at right angles to describe a rectangleof pieces l9, l5 and 23 disposed at right angles to rest surface 22.

All frame components 11 are the same. The distance between opposite andparallel web faces of pieces 19 and 20 of a rest member 18 is equal tohalf the dimension of pallet 12 along planks of its decks 16 and 17,plus a fraction of an inch for clearance. Pieces 20 of any two framecomponents 11 may be abutted face-to-face along their companion webfaces, as seen in Fig. 1, which enables the pallet-engaging members 15of the several frame components to be lodged between decks 16 and 17 ofa pallet 12 along its respective opposite end edges. The angle of angleiron in each upright piece 23 thereby engages a corner of pallet 12,whereby the pallet is held in its frame.

Locating pin 24 and bolt holes 25 and 26 are spaced symmetrically alongpiece 20 of each frame component 11, as seen in Fig. 3, with bolt hole25 located at the mid-point. Locating pin 24 of any frame component 11.

is positioned for companion engagement with bolt hole 26 of any otherframe component, and the disclosed structure thereby positions theseveral bolt holes 25 in registry with each other and located to beengaged by bolt 27. One bolt 27 secures the two frame components 1 1 toeach other, with locating pin 24 of each engaging locating hole 26 ofthe other. Pallet i2 is held thereby in its frame of the two components11, with only limited motion permitted between the pallet and the frame.The frame rests with its pallet-engaging member 15 bearing on lower deck17 of pallet 12, and constitutes a support for another pallet on top ofthe frame, and out of engagement with any stock that rests on a pallet.

A frame of component 11 may be attached to any upper pallet 12 in themanner described. This enables pallets 12 to be stacked on top of eachother as high as it is feasible to lift them. Pallets may be positionedclosely adjacent to each other side-by-side, in the directions of thetwo dimensions of a pallet, thereby affording economic use of storagespace, or stowage space in a transportation vehicle. Floor or deck areaoccupied by any pallet 12 is less than one inch greater than itsdimension in each direction. 7

The disclosed structure is compatible with standard machinery used forhandling stock. Forked trucks are commonly used to lift and carry stockon a pallet 12. The tines of a truck fork are inserted between decks l6and 17 of a pallet 12, in the space between stringers 28 as best seen inFig. 2, whereby the fork of the truck takes hold below upper deck 16. Aframe of components 11 attached to a pallet 12 does not interfere withPatentecl lan. 31, 1961.

the normal operation of a forked truck. A sling may be attached to restmembers 18 of a frame of components 11, to be lifted by any suitablehoisting engine, and palletengaging members of the frame engage theunder surface of upper deck 16 to lift the attached pallet 12.

Structure of a frame of components 11 as described up to now issufficient as a stationary support of stock on pallets 12. Greaterstability and rigidity is desired to meet the shock and stresses orordinary practices of stock handling. Stay members 29 are provided,consisting of lengths of any suitable elongated stress members. Strapiron is preferred, and each stay member 29 constitutes a length of strapiron.

' Bolt holes 30 are provided in each upright 23, and the bolt holes arelocated symmetrically and uniformly in the uprights of all framecomponents 11. Each upright 23 is provided with two bolt holes 30, eachlocated so that the distance between the upper bolt hole of each uprightof one of the two components 11 of a frame and the lower bolt hole ofthe corresponding upright of the other component of the frame is uniformin all the combinations of a given frame, and is uniform in a frame ofany two components that are attached to each other. This is accomplishedby locating the two bolt holes 30 uniformly in each of the two uprights23 of any frame component 11, and uniformly in the bolt holes of alluprights of all frame components.

All stay members 29 constitute like lengths of strap iron, and eachcomprises a bolt hole 31 at each of its opposite ends. The distancebetween bolt holes 31 of any stay member 29 is the same as the distancebetween bolt holes 30, upper and lower respectively, of thecorresponding uprights 23 of the two frame components 11 of any frame.Bolts 32 fit bolt holes 30 and 31, all bolts 32 being alike and astandard that is readily procurable. If desired, bolts 32 and 27 may bealike.

A single stay member 29 connecting upright 23 of the two framecomponents 11 along each of opposite sides of a frame is sufficient tostabilize the frame with sufiicient rigidity to withstand the shock andstress of usual and common practices in handling stock on pallets 12.

In addition to bolts 27 and 32, which usually are supplied in kegs, andstay member 29 constituting uniform lengths of standard strap iron,frame members 11 are the only elements needed to supply the work ofequipping any given number of pallets 12 with frames consisting of framecomponents 11. Frame components 11 may be stacked, each in the angle ofthe next, to conserve the space required to store or stow framecomponents. The problem of supplying and shipping the stock of materialsneeded to assemble frames of components 11 is greatly simplifiedthereby. The work of assembling frames, as also the work of fabricatingframe components 11 and stay members 29, is simplified by the structureof all components 11 being alike and all stay members 29 being alike.Any two components 11 and any two stay members 29 are removed from stockto make the assembly, and the problem of selecting rights and lefts iscompletely eliminated thereby.

One practical embodiment of the invention is disclosed. Scope of theinvention is determined by the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. Frame structure for a pallet having a plurality of deck boardsforming an upper deck and a lower deck sandwiching a plurality ofstringers spaced from the ends of said deck boards, said frame structurecomprising a rest member comprising a pair of frame components of angleiron defining identical closed plane figures, said components beingsecured together removably to form a figure that is coextensive with thecorners of such pallet, angle irons secured to and depending from saidrest member at the points thereof that are coextensive with the cornersof such pallet, said depending angle irons being positioned whollyoutside the rectangle defined by such pallet, and a pair of U-shapedchannel members each connecting two of said angle irons at the endsthereof distal said rest member, said U-shaped channel member beingseated wholly between such upper deck and such lower deck and parallelto such stringers.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which one of said frame components, itsdepending angle irons and the U-shaped channel member thereof isidentical the other of said frame components, its depending angle ironsand its U-shaped channel member.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which said frame components each definea truncated isosceles triangle and the shorter bases of said framecomponents are juxtaposed.

4. The combination of claim 3 in which the juxtaposed bases of suchtruncated triangles are provided with mating pins and holes maintainingregistry of said components.

. 5. The combination of claim 8 including a plurality of stay memberspositioned wholly outside the rectangle defined by such pallet securingselected depending angle irons to each other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,742,384 Fitzgerald Jan. 7, 1930 1,795,060 Vance Mar. 3, 1931 2,495,711Fletcher Jan. 31, 1950 2,523,271 Bartel Sept. 26, 1950 2,579,685 LooseDec. 25, 1951 2,686,645 Whitehurst Aug. 17, 1954 2,828,933 De Pew Apr.1, 1958

